I said something on stage at Launch yesterday that I’d like to elaborate on:

“Great VCs care more about the company than their investment.” -@fredwilson @Launch #launch2015

— Red Clay (@redclayco) March 4, 2015

I do not mean that your investment isn’t important and I do not mean that making money isn’t the focus of a venture capital firm and a venture capital investor. Both are absolutely true.

However, I believe if you are invested in a startup at an early stage that goes on to become a “great company”, that your investment is going to work out fabulously well.

So I think that putting all of your energy into helping the entrepreneur and the team around them build a great company is the best way to accomplish generating great returns on investment.

Venture capital is one of those asset classes where you can impact your investment. And the best VCs do that very well. I’ve studied the great VCs and how they conduct themselves. And what I have seen is that this focus on the company first and everything else second is what separates the best ones from the rest.